Miniature Cannon and Carriages

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Part of a battery of 10 small guns made for Prince Charles later Charles II – five by John Browne in 1638 and five by Thomas Pitt in 1639 (XIX.25)

Part of a battery of 10 small guns made for Prince Charles later Charles II – five by John Browne in 1638 and five by Thomas Pitt in 1639 (XIX.25)

Date: 1638-39 | Object number: XIX.25-6 & 29-30

Statistics

Object Provenance:

English, dated 1638 & 1639; carriages mid 19th century

Object Number:

XIX.25-6 & 29-30

Miniature Cannon and Carriages

Description

Part of a battery of 10 small guns made for Prince Charles later Charles II – five by John Browne in 1638 and five by Thomas Pitt in 1639.

XIX.25 & 26: made by John Browne. Each gun has the badge of the Prince of Wales with the initials C.P cast in relief on the second reinforce. The first reinforce is inscribed ‘JOHNBROWNEMADETHISPEECE 1638’.

Calibre: 1.3 in (3.3 cm)
Weight : XIX.26 23 kg (1 qtr 23 lb)

XIX.29-30: made by Thomas Pitt . Slightly smaller than the Browne cannon and generally more graceful. The decoration matches the Browne guns save for the maker’s inscription which reads ‘THOMASPITMADETHISPEECE 1639’. The touch hole is bushed (plugged) with steel.

Calibre: 1.1 in (2.8 cm)
Weight: XIX.30 16.8 kg (1 qtr 9 lb)

The model cannon first appear in the Duplicates or Inventories for Sale of the Goods and Personal Estate of the Late King Charles 1st made according to the Act of Parliament passed 4.07.1649, amended 17.07.1651. Then in the armoury of St James’s Palace they were included in lot no.28 which consisted of a number of military models valued in all at £40. They were described as ‘15 peeces of brass ordinance, each about 22 ynches long being mounted on their carrages’. Unsold, they were lodged at the Tower as items of curiosity, where they appear in the 1665 inventory (14 of them) but by the 1683 inventory had dwindled to 10 and were mounted on ship carriages. They are mentioned in the 1750 Guide – although erroneously attributed to King Charles I – and the barrels are displayed in Gilbert and Melville’s illustration of the New Horse Armoury (about 1845).